England’s FA calls for Qatar’s migrant workers to be compensated

England’s Football Association (FA) said that families of migrant workers in Qatar who were injured or killed while constructing the infrastructure for this year’s World Cup should be compensated.

Qatar has faced intense criticism from human rights groups over its treatment of migrant workers, who along with other foreigners comprise the bulk of the country’s population.

Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and FairSquare said on Tuesday FIFA’s partners and World Cup sponsors must urge world soccer’s governing body and the Qatari government to compensate migrant workers.

“We continue to push for the principle of compensation for the families of migrant workers who have lost their lives or have been injured in construction projects,” FA chief executive Mark Bullingham said in a statement.

“Again, we are pushing FIFA for an update on the compensation fund which has been consistently referenced as a safety net where workers and their families have been unable to secure compensation from the construction companies.”

The government of Qatar has said its labour system is a work in progress, but denied a 2021 Amnesty report that thousands of migrant workers were still being exploited.

via Reuters